Sir Arnold Bax: Four Orchestral Pieces & Phantasy

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Dukes deliver the Phantasy's solo part with a forthright energy that seems to thwart loveliness of tone. In every other department these performances could hardly be finer. The orchestral playing... — BBC Music Magazine, November 2014, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Sep 2014
Catalogue No: CHAN10829
Label: Chandos
Length: 73 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

1st September 2014
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Finalist 2014

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Bax: 4 Orchestral Pieces

Work length27:03

$4.75

$5.85

$7.20

BBC Philharmonic
Sir Andrew Davis
Recorded: 20-21 May 2014
Recording Venue: MediaCity UK, Salford, England, United Kingdom

I. Pensive Twilight

Track length6:49

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

II. Dance in the Sun

Track length6:48

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

III. From the Mountains of Home (In the Hills of Home)

Track length8:15

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

IV. The Dance of Wild Irravel

Track length5:11

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

Bax: Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra in D minor

Work length22:01

$4.25

$5.20

$6.40

Philip Dukes (viola)
BBC Philharmonic
Sir Andrew Davis
Recorded: 20-21 May 2014

I. Poco lento. Largamente

Track length8:38

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

II. Lento semplice

Track length6:21

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

III. Allegro vivace

Track length7:02

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

Bax: Overture, Elegy & Rondo

Work length24:12

$4.25

$5.20

$6.40

Yuri Torchinsky (violin)
BBC Philharmonic
Sir Andrew Davis
Recorded: 20-21 May 2014
Recording Venue: MediaCity UK, Salford, England, United Kingdom

I. Overture

Track length7:49

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

II. Elegy

Track length9:23

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

III. Rondo

Track length7:00

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

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Recording of the Week, Andrew Davis conducts orchestral works by Bax

1st September 2014

James listens to the culmination of Chandos's Bax project, including the first ever recording of his Four Orchestral Pieces, conducted by Andrew Davis.

Sir Andrew Davis is among the most distinguished interpreters of British music today and here turns to the works of Sir Arnold Bax. With the inclusion of the Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra, this disc marks the completion of Chandos’s long project to record Bax’s complete orchestral music over time.

Born in 1883 into a wealthy family in London, Arnold Bax began a love affair with Ireland as a young man. He moved there in 1911 and his Four Orchestral Pieces from 1912 – 13 are deeply influenced by the landscape of the countryside near his Dublin home. The first three are better known in revised versions, from 1928, as Three Pieces for Small Orchestra. Here ‘The Dance of Wild Irravel’ joins the other three movements for the premiere recording of the four Pieces as Bax originally conceived and orchestrated them.

The Phantasy for Viola and Orchestra from 1920 was inspired by the strong feelings with which Bax responded to the Irish political turmoil at the time, underlined by his use of the Sinn Fein Marching Song (later the Irish national anthem) at its climax. Bax is celebrated for his melodic invention and this passionately lyrical score must be one of the finest examples of his gift. Here the soloist is Philip Dukes, described by The Times as ‘Great Britain’s most outstanding viola player’.

By 1927 Bax’s style was changing and the opening of the Overture, Elegy and Rondo is reminiscent of a classical concerto, suggesting a leaning towards then-fashionable neoclassicism. The long, dreamy melody of the middle section and brilliant, colourful orchestration, however, are unmistakable hallmarks of Bax’s individual voice.

Reviews

November 2014

Dukes deliver the Phantasy's solo part with a forthright energy that seems to thwart loveliness of tone. In every other department these performances could hardly be finer. The orchestral playing is vivid and precise, as is the recorded sound; and Davis's conducting is a masterclass in how to conjure atmosphere.

October 2014

there's little with which to quibble performance-wise...Drawing some first-rate playing from the BBC Phiharmonic, Davis imparts plenty of confident swagger and twinkling fun to both outer movements...every Baxian will surely want to investigate this new Chandos survey.

1st September 2014

Dukes's tone is quite lovely: rich and full in the lower register, confident and singing up top...what a pleasant surprise this disc has turned out to be...I hope that all lovers of English music will want to explore this disc, and will delight in its many musical treasures!

14th September 2014

Dukes is a sterling advocate of this unjustly neglected work — the haunting cor anglais solo recalls the shepherd’s lament in Wagner’s Tristan — while Davis proves passionate in the impressionistic Four Orchestral Pieces and the powerful, dark Overture, Elegy and Rondo.

28th August 2014

Though stylistically the two works [Overture, Elegy and Rondo and Four Orchestral Pieces] have their differences...both works reveal the same sure-footed handling of the orchestra, which these carefully manicured performances under conductor Andrew Davis show off beautifully.

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Recording of the Week, Andrew Davis conducts orchestral works by Bax

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